What got you through the admission process this year? How many hours did you devote to college search and selection? And how much money did you spend?
Those are just some of the questions reporters at The New York Times are asking college-bound students and their families. Anyone over 13 can complete a short questionnaire open now on the paper’s website.
Continue reading Students: Share Your College Admission Story with The New York Times
Three-quarters of community college presidents report that their institutions are adding new programs or other options to make it easier for students to transfer to four-year universities, according to a new report from Inside Higher Ed and Gallup.
The additions are an attempt to recruit more students and better serve those already enrolled at two-year institutions, survey data from community college presidents shows.
Continue reading Survey: Community Colleges Seek to Increase Transfer Options
Did you land a new job? Receive an award? Publish a book?
Let NACAC know what you’ve been up to by filling out our survey. Member updates will be published quarterly on the association’s Admitted blog.
There’s a reason it’s a classic.
Parents, educators, and others have turned to Beverly Daniel Tatum’s bestselling book for over two decades to better understand the dynamics of race in America. Those conversations continue to be critically important today, so on June 11 #NACACreads will discuss the new edition of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
The student-athlete’s path to college is unique and requires hard work on and off the field.
This was the message of “Making Sense of College Soccer Recruiting,” a free webinar recently hosted by Soccer Chaplains United.
Jennifer “J.T.” Thomas, a college counselor at Maybeck High School in California and a frequent speaker on this topic at NACAC conferences, kicked off the webinar with a reality check.
“Not everyone gets a full ride…especially in soccer,” Thomas stressed. “If you’re after the money, you’re looking in the wrong direction.”
Continue reading Free Webinar Examines the College Soccer Recruiting Process
Will your students be attending a National College Fair this spring?
A series of new videos from NACAC can help them make the most out of the experience. Featuring admission staff from Southern Methodist University (TX), the videos include tips to help students prepare for the fair, make the most of their time on-site, and follow-up with colleges after the fair.
A Spanish-language video covering the same topics is also available.
Continue reading New Videos Help Students Prepare for National College Fairs
Looking for ways to increase access and success in higher ed?
Using new technologies to provide personalized support and timely information can help students get to and through college, author Benjamin Castleman noted during a Wednesday #NACACreads Twitter chat.
“We know that students face complex and consequential decisions all along the road to and through college,” Castleman tweeted during a discussion of his book, The 160-Character Solution: How Text Messaging and Other Behavioral Strategies Can Improve Education. “These choices range from HS juniors/seniors choosing which of the thousands of colleges in the country are a good fit for their (postsecondary) goals, to advanced college students (identifying) financial resources they can access to get through the last mile of college.”
Continue reading #NACACreads: Using Text Messages to Nudge College-Bound Students
Editor’s note: A version of this post was originally published on Admitted in March 2016. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.
Getting into college is only half the battle for teens living in poverty.
To prove eligibility for financial aid, many colleges ask low-income students to submit a mountain of paperwork — going beyond what is required of their middle- and upper-income peers, NACAC member Joshua Steckel wrote in a 2016 opinion column published by The Boston Globe.
The process is burdensome, he noted. Worst of all, it can discourage talented students from accessing the financial support they need to attend college.
Continue reading Counselor: Financial Aid Process Burdens Low-Income Students
From identifying right-fit schools to securing financial aid and selecting classes — success in higher education is intrinsically linked to a student’s ability to make informed decisions about their future and follow through on their plans.
Discuss new ways to help students navigate this critical process Wednesday during a #NACACreads discussion with Benjamin Castleman, author of The 160-Character Solution: How Text Messaging and Other Behavioral Strategies Can Improve Education. The chat kicks off at 9 p.m. ET on Twitter.
As college costs continue to increase, community colleges are seeing a rise in the number of upper-middle class students enrolling to save money on their way to a four-year degree.
“This is about social norms,” Sara Goldrick-Rab, a professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University (PA), told The New York Times. “More middle-class parents are saying, I’m not succumbing to the idea that the only acceptable education is an expensive one.”
Continue reading Community Colleges Report Serving More Middle-Class Students